TF Sport will be looking to improve on its impressive debut outing in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Oulton Park two weeks ago when the series resumes at Rockingham Motor Speedway this weekend (4-5 May).
Contesting its first full-time campaign in the highly competitive British GT Championship, TF Sport impressed in Oulton Park’s curtain-raiser a fortnight ago by securing a GT4 class victory.
Paul Bailey and Andy Schulz, were very quick to acquaint themselves with the team’s newly-acquired 600bhp Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 and were on track for a sixth place finish at Oulton Park, when a slow puncture hindered their progress.
Unlike the last meeting, this weekend will see two one-hour sprints replaced with a single two-hour endurance feature race, which will require drivers to take a conservative and consistent approach in order to preserve their Avon tyres.
Having previously raced side-by-side in the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championships, Bailey and Schulz have experience of endurance racing and tyre management, but remain grounded and expect an much tougher challenge at Rockingham.
“Being only the second race of the season, it will once again be a steep learning curve for both Andy (Schulz) and myself,” said Bailey. “As it’s the first endurance race of the season, I am unsure what to expect from the life of the tyres. Rockingham in the dry is very abrasive on the tyres so, come the end of the race, the car could be sliding around a lot.
“We’ve got to set ourselves realistic goals, and if we were to finish within the top ten, we would celebrate as if we had won the title because it will be a huge achievement in our debut season.”
Schulz added: “We head to Rockingham with the same goal as Oulton Park, which is to finish the race, hopefully within the top ten. Paul (Bailey) and myself are looking to improve in terms of our single-lap pace in qualifying, which is crucial.
“We have a lot of positives to take away from the last meeting, such as our race pace. Although the results don’t show it, we were on for some great results before the unexpected slow puncture. We go to Rockingham with a view on what to expect and should be able to push further up the grid.”
Reigning Aston Martin GT4 Challenge Champion, Andrew Jarman, and teammate Devon Modell finished third in GT4 during Round 1 at Oulton Park, before going on to scale the top step of the podium in Round 2.
Modell and Jarman will be looking to carry that momentum forwards by claiming more silverware at Rockingham, but are expecting a tough fight from the rest of the ten-car GT4 field.
“I’d like to replicate the success we had at the last outing in the British GT,” said Modell. “The car doesn’t suit the track as much as it did at Oulton Park, but as it is one long endurance race and not a sprint, it’s all about managing the tyres and not always pushing to your absolute limit. If you get your strategy correct, it will benefit you come the end of the race when you’ll be able to pick off your rivals.
“We did some testing with the V8 Vantage last week at Rockingham, which is a track I have fond memories winning in the UK Clio Cup ‘Autumn Cup’ at the tail-end of last year. We were unable to get much dry running, but we were able to find a set-up in the wet that I was very happy with.”
Jarman added: “Oulton Park was a really good start to the season, but I’m expecting a slightly tougher weekend with the Aston Martin at Rockingham. The Aston Martin goes better on longer, sweeping tracks, while the tight, twisty venues like Rockingham plays to the strengths of shorter-wheelbase cars. It’s still a bit of an unknown, because there have been changes to the balance of performance, but I think scoring solid points is the objective and anymore than that would be a bonus.
“I’m still getting to grips with the aero car and extracting pace from the Avon tyres over one lap, while preserving them during a race. Devon (Modell) and I are working really well together and are making sure we get the entire package correct, right down to the pit stops.”
TF Sport Team Principal, Tom Ferrier, said: “The test at Rockingham last Friday (25 April) was wet in the morning and dry in the afternoon. It was good to run in the rain with both cars, as we haven’t done a lot of wet running. It’s always hard to know where you are when testing against others due to fuel loads and tyre degradation, but I feel fairly happy going into the weekend.
“My hopes for the weekend are the same as before – a podium in GT4 and points in GT3. It’s a two-hour race so there will be more involvement for the team. Strategy has a greater impact on these races and, in the longer races, results are worth points and a half, so finishing is important.”
Avon Tyres British GT Championship qualifying is scheduled to take place at 15.45 on Sunday (4 May) with the two-hour endurance race (Round 3) set for 13.55 on Bank Holiday Monday(5 May).
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